Zyelk Tai'Rilti removed his hood as he entered the dark bar. His eyes briefly surveyed the immediate area before focusing on the rear table and its occupants. Nervously he proceeded toward the back of the room, attempting to remain unnoticed by the patrons of the tavern. Yet it seemed that the whole room was watching him with mischievous interest... clearly this drow was out of place in the city of Gloomhaven.
In the rear, sitting comfortably on a padded wooden chair was a duergar of incredible proportion. He was exceptionally obese; his body size was probably the girth of three or four normal dwarves combined. This duergar was so overweight that it was amazing that the small chair upon which he sat was able to support his weight. A vertical column of blazing red hair lined his gleamingly well-shaved head, which seemed to be the only prominent trait on this living mass of fat.
Sitting on each of his large laps was a young duergar lass, each with their arms wrapped loosely around his thick, pudgy neck. They seemed to flirt with him and cleaned up after him while his hands worked the dinner table, picking up slab after slab of greasy meat and shoving them carelessly into his enormous mouth. He was indeed a very messy eater. Another dark dwarf sat to his left side who eyed the newcomer with a smile.
Zyelk halted upon a closer view. Surely this could not be a member of the Assassin's Guild of Gloomhaven? He continued to stare at the gluttonous figure for several moments and was about to turn around to leave until the other dwarf signaled for him to sit down. Zyelk hesitantly walked to the table and took a seat across from the fatty dwarf, who seemed not to notice and continued to devour his several meals at an unimaginable pace.
"I be Kazedaten," spoke the companion, "and my busy friend 'ere is the world renowned Datakatan." Kazedaten half-nodded toward his friend and flashed a wicked grin at Zyelk. "Ye be requesting our services?"
Zyelk did not respond, his attention caught by the uncanny eating capabilities of the fat duergar, Datakatan. His serving wenches giggled with glee and continued to rub his face and chins with napkins, occasionally stroking their fine female beards and looking excitably at Zyelk.
Finally, Zyelk broke free from his entrapment and turned to Kazedaten. "That... thing is an assassin?!?"
Kazedaten grinned and spoke, "Aye, of course. See his powerful mohawk? That be proof that he is of Clan Dreadspear, one of the deadliest families of the Guild."
Zyelk gulped, shocked as what would be his savior. "I need help," he stammered. "I have fled from my city and am being pursued by three of my kind." Zyelk paused and licked his lips, his eyes glancing again at the mess caused by Datakatan. "I need for immediate protection and those after me to be slain."
Kazedatan chuckled and nodded. "Aye," he stated simply. "Now there be the matter of the price..."
"I will reward you handsomely!" Zyelk interrupted. His eyes darted back and forth, and he whispered, "Five hundred platinum coins to have my pursuers killed, and to keep me alive until then."
At this point Datakatan finally stopped eating, placing the half-cooked rotheloaf back onto its plate. His dark eyes were no longer focused on his meat, and now met Zyelk's. In a somber voice he stated clearly, "One thousand platinum coins."
"What?!?" Zyelk exclaimed. He could not believe the audacity of this duergar to demand such an inflated price. It was true that they were a notoriously money-grubbing race, but this was an outrageous demand! For a moment his eyes glared in hatred at the inferior beings that he sat with, but Zyelk soon regained his composure as he remembered his surrounding environment.
Zyelk tried to speak calmly. "I was more than generous offering what I did. I will offer no more, so I suggest you accept it and get to work." Zyelk now smirked, reminding himself that he was the client and had the advantage in the deal.
Datakatan's expression changed to that of amusement, and as he laughed out loud his magnificent belly shook ferociously. Indeed all the flab on his body seemed to ripple and wave in smooth unison to Datakatan's loud bellowing. The serving girls on his lap giggled along and even Kazedaten chuckled out loud.
"Look here," Kazedaten spoke. "Real soon ye 'ole barge comes carrying your pals. The gates 're locked, you cannot escape. They'll find ye before the night end, and they kill ye without our help. One thousand be fair, eh?"
Zyelk slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Why you cheating bastards! You know not who you speak to! I will tolerate your foolishness no more!" He turned around and stomped a few paces before suddenly coming to a stop. The short little schemers were right. Coming to Gloomhaven was a mistake made in haste. He could not survive the night without their help.
He slowly turned around, seething in anger, and spat out, "Fine. I'll pay the thousand."
Datakatan finally stopped laughing and grinned evilly. "One thousand five hundred now for the disrespect in me pub." Now every single patron of the bar had their attention solely on Zyelk.
Zyelk's eyes opened even wider as he heard the price. "Damn you!" Zyelk screamed, tears of anger streaming from his eyes. "Curse your wretched kind, you selfish bastards!" With that he turned around and bolted out of the tavern. Inside all the dwarves erupted in a chorus of laughter and jest.
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Zyelk walked alone for nearly an hour on the quiet streets of Gloomhaven, all the while swearing at the name of Datakatan. He passed many duergar in their daily activities that all stopped to stare maliciously at the drow stranger. Often he glared back at them with extreme contempt before proceeding in his random wandering of the town. He would get his revenge on those vile dwarves, Zyelk thought to himself, but first he had to find a safe hiding place. Yet everywhere he went he knew he was being watched by the residents of the town and that they would more than gladly sell out knowledge of his location to those that hunted him.
Zyelk sudden halted. He saw it, just for a moment, a flash of movement to his sides. They had found him already! "How can this be... so soon!" he mumbled to himself. His heart pounded uncontrollably and he started to tremble. His hand slowly crawled toward the hilt of his dagger, but even he knew he stood no chance against his fate.
They now made themselves visible. To his front stood two figures wrapped in dark cloaks. Several feet behind him was a third figure. All had their weapons drawn. One of them spoke out in their own elvish language. "Traitor Zyelk, accept swift death for your crime."
Zyelk clumsily drew forth his dagger and waved it wildly in front of him. The cloaked hunters took no precaution and proceed to slowly advance upon their target.
At that very moment the drow in the rear let out a yelp and fell to the ground, dead. Standing behind the corpse yet hidden in shadows was a large form. The other agents quickly turned their attention to this new surprise. At first they thought they were up against multiple adversaries, yet they soon realized that it was just one fleshy blob of a duergar dwarf. Datakatan had arrived.
One rushed straight at him, letting out a loud cry as she charged. Yet she halted to a stop as Datakatan suddenly vanished into thin air! Frantically she scanned the environment, keeping her back to the wall of the nearby building. She heard something directly in front of her and thrust a weapon forward, yet hit nothing. She swung her other weapon outward but her arm bounced off something soft. Her legs were swept from beneath her and she fell face first to the ground as Datakatan snapped into visibility.
Looking up at her assailant the female drow was suddenly put into a state of extreme fear. Datakatan, seeming bigger than possible, towered above her and obstructed her sight of anything except for his form. Between the wall and his wide body she seemed to be surrounded and had no way out. Her final vision was the blur of his flabby arms as he brought his cruel blades down upon her.
Zyelk and the remaining assassin continued to stare in astonishment as Datakatan turned around to face them. The cloaked drow quickly realized his situation. He would have to come back for Zyelk later; for now his immediate threat was this immensely humongous dwarf.
He turned and ran several yards before noticing that he was headed for a dead end. He spun back around, breathing heavily, and prepared to engage the duergar. Datakatan had not moved from his position, but now slowly proceeded toward the drow.
As Datakatan passed by the wildly cackling Zyelk, his pace increased. Within moments he was dashing toward the drow agent, uttering a fierce battle cry as he bounced along the street. Each step, more forceful than the previous, seemed to make the earth tremble and crack. His flabby body no longer seemed so fat and grew tense and hardened as he advanced.
The drow resisted the urge to panic and braced himself for the assault. Datakatan propelled himself off the ground and leap into mid-air in a ball-like position, flying with an unbelievable momentum. The collision was devastating. Datakatan's whole body forcefully slammed itself into its unprepared victim, sending the drow flying into the air for several seconds. Datakatan landed soundly and eventually rolled to a stop. Soon after there was the sound of a loud crash from the wall of a large building a couple dozen feet away. The drow's meager body slid to the ground and collapsed into a heap, eventually springing forth a pool of sticky blood.
Datakatan clumsily managed to get to his feet, burped solemnly, and bowed his head at his former adversary. He turned around and walked back to Zyelk, who had still been cackling nonstop until now. Zyelk licked his lips happily and exclaimed, "T-thank you!"
Datakatan once again stared straight into Zyelk's eyes, demanding silence from the drow. Zyelk gulped nervously as Datakatan held his eyes for several moments. Finally the duergar spoke.
"Two thousand platinum coins by the morning, or else..." Datakatan reached into his pockets and rummaged around, all the while maintaining his stare. Finally he withdrew a juicy strip of meat and proceeded to take a huge bite out of it. Nodding at Zyelk, he turned and headed back in the direction of the tavern.
Zyelk fell to his knees in shock and dismay. His eyes surveyed each bloody corpse briefly and remained focused on the last one. Tears of anger once again leaked down his face. It was obvious that he had no choice but to pay or to die. Zyelk rubbed at his eyes with a clenched fist and for hours cursed the name of the greedy fat bastard, Datakatan Dreadspear.
[This message has been edited by Datakatan (edited 04-15-2002).]
Datakatan Dreadspear
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